Use electronic parts catalogs to attract and keep customers

This image illustrates an OEM kit provided within the manufacturer’s eCatalog. It allows the dealership’s team to quickly see the information they need to save time and better serve customers.Three ways to retain and grow your repeat business

By Catherine Lukas-Ter Horst

During the past few months, I visited outdoor power equipment dealers who use electronic parts catalogs to better serve their customers. All the dealers I spoke with told me that about 75 percent of their customer base is built on repeat business. When you consider that the cost of acquiring a new customer is six to seven times more than retaining an existing one (Source: Flowtown), it’s clearly important to draw people back to your store and website. Three simple ways to do just that are as follows:

1. Sell more stuff with kits

A kit is a great tool for pieces of equipment that you regularly repair or service. You can either create your own kits or use the ones included in the parts catalogs that your OEMs provide.

– OEM-created kits. A kit can be made up of consolidated parts that are needed to complete standard types of service, such as a brake, deck or spindle assembly. Some manufacturers provide kits — as a single part number, or with their own diagram — within their electronic parts catalogs. Take advantage of what’s already there by bookmarking those kits for easy retrieval so your service team can quickly access them.

– Customized kits. You can also create your own kits, made up of common consolidated parts that you use to complete standard types of service, such as an oil change on a lawn mower. Identifying these items ahead of time in a kit — for the most frequently serviced models — saves time. For example, with winter fast approaching, now’s a great time to create “Winter Tune-up Kits.” To make it even faster, you can save them as quotes or pick lists.

– If you have an online store, promote and sell your customized kits on your website. To make it even easier for your online customers to identify the parts they need, use pictures to illustrate what’s included in the kit. Also, make sure that your online parts finder enables customers to add all these items to their cart without requiring them to leave the specific page they’re on. This will help minimize cart abandonment.

The faster you get customers in and out of your store, with the right part in their hands or with their serviced equipment, the better their experience, and the more likely they are to return. The same goes for online shoppers. The less work they have to do to find the product and the information they need, the faster they’ll go from cart to paid order — and back to your website for future purchases.

2. Upsell the essentials

Another interesting insight from my conversations with dealers is that it’s easy to forget about the essentials, such as “wear parts,” lubricants, oil filters and more. You often get so busy pulling the parts you need to service your customers that you forget about upselling the essentials. They don’t necessarily display in a diagram when you’re looking for parts, so you don’t always remember to leverage them as a tool to grow your business.

– Add these essentials to kits, and remember to display them close to your checkout counter.

– Promote essentials online — not just in a banner ad on your website — but as automatic “add-ons” to the cart, so you can entice customers to buy more.

3. Be the local and friendly expert your customers rely on

Today’s customers are information seekers. They’re doing their homework and making educated decisions about their purchases, so when they’re coming to your store, they’re looking for quality and expertise, all at a reasonable price. You know your stuff. You have the “local” connection. Take advantage of that with every customer, every time.

– Make sure you know your products and why your product knowledge and quality stand above the rest; then, promote that in your dealership. Details matter. Show that you’re a certified, authorized dealer for the OEMs you represent. Display your technicians’ training certificates to demonstrate their qualifications. It’s the little things that add up to completing the big, comforting picture about the quality and expertise of your business.

– You should also promote your expertise online. Beyond the basics of demonstrating your team’s experience in the “About us” section, provide detailed product information that makes consumers come to you — not your local competitor or a big-box store — to learn more and buy now. Include product comparisons, reviews and ratings, as well as Do-It-Yourself instructions and videos. Making your site a resource will keep visitors’ attention longer and keep them coming back to purchase.

– Finally and most importantly, if you want to keep your local and online customers, you have to stay in touch after the purchase. It shows that you care. Check in, thank them, and include them in future, relevant email campaigns about maintenance tips, special offers, and any other dealership news that may interest them.

In today’s marketplace, customers have plenty of options to choose from when it comes to buying equipment and having it serviced. It makes doing business more complicated and more competitive. That said, most customers will come back to you if you’re efficient and helpful, giving them what they need, when they need it — fast. And that often depends on how you maximize the tools you have in your dealership to retain customers and grow your repeat business.

 Catherine Lukas-Ter Horst has more than 15 years experience delivering innovative solutions in product development and management; online marketing and distribution; training and development; and Web-based technology. As Product Manager at ARI, Catherine works closely with the company’s management, sales and development teams to launch and enhance products designed to help dealers sell and service equipment more efficiently. She can be reached at (414) 973-4548 or Terhorst@arinet.com.